U.S. patent application number 11/022159 was filed with the patent office on 2006-06-29 for techniques for monitoring mobile telecommunications for shared accounts.
Invention is credited to Roger A. Fratti, Deborah A. Hampton.
Application Number | 20060141994 11/022159 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 36599580 |
Filed Date | 2006-06-29 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060141994 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Fratti; Roger A. ; et
al. |
June 29, 2006 |
Techniques for monitoring mobile telecommunications for shared
accounts
Abstract
The present invention provides techniques for monitoring mobile
communications. In one aspect, a method of monitoring mobile
telephone usage is provided. The method comprises the step of
relaying usage information pertaining to one or more mobile
telephones to one or more other mobile telephones.
Inventors: |
Fratti; Roger A.; (Mohnton,
PA) ; Hampton; Deborah A.; (Stewartsville,
NJ) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Ryan, Mason & Lewis, LLP
Suite 205
1300 Post Road
Fairfield
CT
06824
US
|
Family ID: |
36599580 |
Appl. No.: |
11/022159 |
Filed: |
December 23, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
455/414.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04W 88/04 20130101;
H04M 3/4872 20130101; H04M 2215/0188 20130101; H04M 3/2218
20130101; H04W 24/00 20130101; H04M 15/00 20130101; H04W 4/24
20130101; H04M 2215/2026 20130101; H04M 2203/353 20130101; H04M
15/765 20130101; H04M 2215/724 20130101; H04M 15/58 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
455/414.1 |
International
Class: |
H04M 11/00 20060101
H04M011/00 |
Claims
1. A method of monitoring mobile telephone usage, the method
comprising the step of relaying usage information pertaining to one
or more mobile telephones to one or more other mobile
telephones.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the usage information comprises
one or more of use duration, use count, minutes remaining in
calling plan, text message content, telephone numbers to which
calls were placed, telephone numbers from which calls were
received, telephone numbers to which text messages were sent,
telephone numbers from which text messages were received,
electronic mail addressed to which text messages were sent and
electronic mail addresses from which text messages were
received.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the information is relayed to the
one or more other mobile telephones by a network service
provider.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the usage information pertains to
one or more sub-accounts.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the usage information is relayed
to one or more primary accounts.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the usage information is relayed
to a single primary account.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the usage information is relayed
to a plurality of primary accounts, two or more of which share
usage information with each other.
8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of
determining that the one or more other mobile telephones are part
of a shared account.
9. An apparatus for monitoring mobile telephone usage, the
apparatus comprising: a memory; and at least one processor, coupled
to the memory, operative to: relay usage information pertaining to
one or more mobile telephones to one or more other mobile
telephones.
10. An article of manufacture for monitoring mobile telephone
usage, comprising a machine readable medium containing one or more
programs which when executed implement the step of relaying usage
information pertaining to one or more mobile telephones to one or
more other mobile telephones.
11. A method of monitoring mobile telephone usage, the method
comprising the steps of: obtaining usage information pertaining to
one or more other mobile telephones; and presenting the usage
information to a user.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the usage information is
presented to the user through a user-definable interface.
13. The method of claim 11, wherein the usage information is
presented to the user through a user-definable interface comprising
one or more of a visual display and an audio display.
14. The method of claim 11, wherein the usage information is
presented to the user through a user-definable visual display
comprising one or more of bar charts, pie charts, graphs, tables
and numerical displays.
15. The method of claim 11, wherein the usage information is
presented to the user through a user-definable audio display
comprising one or more of spoken words, tones and audible code.
16. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of the user
modifying mobile telephone service based at least in part on the
usage information.
17. A mobile telephone, comprising: a memory; and at least one
processor, coupled to the memory, operative to: obtain usage
information pertaining to one or more other mobile telephones; and
present the usage information to a user.
18. The mobile telephone of claim 17, wherein the usage information
is presented to the user through a user-definable interface
comprising one or more of a visual display and an audio
display.
19. The mobile telephone of claim 17, wherein the usage information
is presented to the user through a user-definable visual display
comprising one or more of bar charts, pie charts, graphs, tables
and numerical displays.
20. The mobile telephone of claim 17, wherein the usage information
is presented to the user through a user-definable audio display
comprising one or more of spoken words, tones and audible code.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates generally to
telecommunications, and more particularly to techniques for
monitoring telecommunications usage.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] With the increasing use of wireless communications, usage
regulation has surfaced as a primary concern. Service providers
commonly charge a usage fee that can increase when a user exceeds a
certain allotted number of minutes included in a calling plan.
These fee increases can be disproportionally high compared to the
base price of the calling plan.
[0003] While a single user might be able to monitor the usage on
his or her own personal mobile telephone, many service providers
now offer shared plans wherein multiple users operate multiple
phones, all linked to a single account. Further, with many of these
plans, a certain number of allotted minutes are shared by all the
users. For example, parents might participate in a shared
family-type plan and provide mobile telephones to each of their
children.
[0004] A problem with such a system is, with each user operating
independently of other users, that control over usage may be lost
and over-use charges might be incurred for exceeding the overall
allotted minutes for the plan. These over-use charges can be
exorbitantly high.
[0005] Therefore, techniques for monitoring usage in such shared
plans would be beneficial.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The present invention provides techniques for monitoring
mobile communications of multiple users associated with a shared
account. In one aspect of the invention, a method of monitoring
mobile telephone usage is provided. The method comprises the step
of relaying usage information pertaining to one or more mobile
telephones to one or more other mobile telephones.
[0007] A more complete understanding of the present invention, as
well as further features and advantages of the present invention,
will be obtained by reference to the following detailed description
and drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary technique for
monitoring mobile telephone usage;
[0009] FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary methodology
for monitoring mobile telephone usage;
[0010] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary mobile
telephone usage information system;
[0011] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating another exemplary mobile
telephone usage information system;
[0012] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating yet another exemplary
mobile telephone usage information system;
[0013] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a further exemplary mobile
telephone usage information system;
[0014] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary system for
relaying mobile telephone usage information to a user; and
[0015] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary system for
performing one or more of the present methodologies.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0016] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary technique for
monitoring mobile telephone usage. In FIG. 1, users 102 and 104
operate mobile telephones 106 and 108, respectively. Specifically,
user 102 uses mobile telephone 106 to place a call 110 and user 104
uses mobile telephone 108 to send a text message 112.
[0017] Usage information regarding call 110 and text message 112 is
conveyed to mobile telephone 114, e.g., via service provider
network 113. This usage information may comprise one or more of use
duration and/or count, minutes remaining in calling plan, text
message content, telephone numbers to which calls were placed,
telephone numbers from which calls were received, telephone numbers
and/or electronic mail addresses to which text messages were sent,
telephone numbers and/or electronic mail addresses from which text
messages were received. As will be described in detail below, the
information that is conveyed to mobile telephone 114 may be based,
at least in part, on preferences of a user of mobile telephone
114.
[0018] According to the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1,
mobile telephones 106, 108 and 114 are all linked to the same
account with the service provider. More specifically, mobile
telephone 114 comprises the primary account and mobile telephones
106 and 108 comprise sub-accounts. The present teachings should,
however, not be limited to any particular number of primary and/or
secondary accounts. By way of example only, as will be described in
detail below, more than one mobile telephone might comprise the
primary account. As used herein, the term "primary account" denotes
an account associated with the phone and phone number of the
billing statement. The term "sub-account" denotes phones and phone
numbers also associated with the same billing statement, but are
secondary in nature, e.g., as assigned by the service provider.
[0019] Mobile telephone 114 includes display 116. Portion 118 of
display 116 may comprise a graphic representation of usage
information for the one or more mobile telephones in the account.
For example, the graphic representation may comprise bar charts 120
and 122 which indicate usage information, e.g., text messaging
usage and talk time, respectively, for mobile telephone 106, and
bar charts 124 and 126 which indicate usage information, e.g., text
messaging usage and talk time, for mobile telephone 108. While FIG.
1 depicts displaying text messaging and talk time usage
information, as described above other usage information may be
provided.
[0020] Further, the graphic representation might indicate how much
of an allotted usage remains for a given billing period, e.g.,
number of talk time minutes remaining in a month before over-use
charges are incurred. For example, according to the depiction of a
graphic representation in FIG. 1, upper limit indicium 128 and
lower limit indicium 130 indicate that mobile telephone 106 has
less text messaging usage but more talk time remaining than mobile
telephone 108. According to an exemplary embodiment, indicia 128
and 130 are variable and may be based, at least in part, on the
service plan provided by the service provider. Additionally, the
user might be able to program in and/or alter these indicia on the
display.
[0021] Typically, text messaging usage is based on the number of
text messages sent in a given billing period, i.e., in a month. For
example, a base plan might allow 100 text messages a month. For
each message over 100, the account is charged a fee, e.g., ten
cents.
[0022] While FIG. 1 shows the graphic representation comprising a
bar chart-type configuration, it is to be understood that the
graphic representation may comprise any suitable configuration for
conveying usage information to a human user of mobile telephone
114. For example, suitable graphic representations include, but are
not limited to, bar charts, pie charts, graphs, tables, numerical
displays and combinations comprising at least one of the foregoing
graphic representations.
[0023] Further, the usage information may be conveyed to the user
of mobile telephone 114 through an audio interface, either in
conjunction with, or in place of, the graphic representation. An
audio interface is particularly useful in instances when the user
is unable to look at display 116, for example, when driving, or if
the user is sight impaired. According to the techniques presented
herein, any audio interfaces suitable for conveying usage
information to the user may be employed, including, but not limited
to, spoken words, tones, audible code and combinations comprising
at least one of the foregoing audio interfaces.
[0024] The user may also define how the usage information is
presented to them. For example, the user might first select that a
graphic representation of the usage information be employed. The
user might then select a bar chart configuration, such as that
shown depicted in FIG. 1. Alternatively, if the user selects an
audio interface, the user might then select that usage information
be conveyed to them by spoken English words. The options available
for selection by the user may comprise template configurations, for
example, created by the mobile telephone manufacturer or supplied
by the service provider. Further, according to the teachings
presented herein, the user enters her preferences directly into her
mobile telephone, or alternatively, the user might contact the
service provider and convey her preferences to them. The service
provider can then configure the user's mobile telephone to reflect
those preferences.
[0025] The user may also dictate what usage information is to be
provided. For example, the user might be concerned only about text
messaging usage, and thus would request that only usage information
relating to text messaging be conveyed to them. Similarly, the user
might be concerned only with the usage of one particular mobile
telephone in the account. The user could then request that only
usage information for that one mobile telephone be conveyed to
them.
[0026] FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary methodology
for monitoring mobile telephone usage. In step 202 of exemplary
methodology 200, a mobile telephone is powered up, e.g., turned on,
and scans for a signal from a local cellular tower. In step 204,
the establishment of a link between the mobile telephone and a
particular tower allows a service provider, e.g., through service
provider network 113, described in conjunction with the description
of FIG. 1, above, to be informed of the presence, such as, location
and activity, of the mobile telephone. The service provider may
also gain account information regarding the mobile telephone. See,
for example, step 208, below. In step 206, the mobile telephone and
the tower are ready to receive incoming calls or make outgoing
calls.
[0027] In step 208, the service provider, as described, for
example, in step 204, above, can gain account information regarding
the mobile telephone. Namely, the service provider can establish
whether or not the mobile telephone is a primary telephone on any
accounts. For example, a mobile telephone may be identified as a
primary telephone in an account by a flag set in the accounting
records of the service provider.
[0028] If the mobile telephone is determined by the service
provider to not be a primary telephone in any account, the mobile
telephone, as shown in step 210 may then be used, e.g., to place a
call. In step 212, the tower receives the call and connects it to a
land line for completion. In step 214, the service provider,
through the service provider network, records usage information for
the mobile telephone which is ultimately used for billing purposes.
Further, as described below, if the service provider detects a
primary telephone on the account, it may relay this usage
information to that primary telephone. The usage information
recorded by the service provider may include, for example, the
usage information described in conjunction with the description of
FIG. 1, above.
[0029] If, however, the mobile telephone is determined by the
service provider to be a primary telephone in an account, the
service provider, through the service provider network, will
download updated usage information data regarding one or more of
the telephones in that account, as in step 216. What information is
downloaded and for which particular telephones in the account may
be based on preferences of the user of the mobile telephone, see
description of FIG. 1, above. In step 218, the mobile telephone
processes the usage information data and plots the data on the
mobile telephone display, for example, as shown in FIG. 1.
[0030] The mobile telephone may then be used to place a call, as in
steps 210 and 212, described above, and the usage information maybe
recorded, as in step 214, described above.
[0031] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary mobile
telephone usage information system, e.g., system 300. In system
300, there are four mobile telephones linked to one account, i.e.,
mobile telephones 302, 304, 306 and 308. According to the
configuration shown in FIG. 3, mobile telephone 302 comprises a
primary account and mobile telephones 304, 306 and 308 comprise
sub-accounts.
[0032] In system 300, usage information pertaining to mobile
telephones 304, 306 and 308 is transmitted, via a service provider
network (not shown), to mobile telephone 302. The usage information
then may be conveyed to a user of mobile telephone 302, e.g.,
according to the techniques described in conjunction with the
description of FIG. 1, above.
[0033] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating another exemplary mobile
telephone usage information system, e.g., system 400. In system 400
there are five mobile telephones linked to one account, i.e.,
mobile telephones 402, 404, 406, 408 and 410. According to the
configuration shown in FIG. 4, mobile telephones 402 and 404
comprise primary accounts and mobile telephones 406, 408 and 410
comprise sub-accounts. Thus, more than one primary account may
exist.
[0034] In system 400, usage information pertaining to mobile
telephones 406, 408 and 410 is transmitted, via a service provider
network (not shown), to mobile telephones 402 and 404. Further,
usage information pertaining to mobile telephone 404 may similarly
be transmitted to mobile telephone 402, and vice versa. By way of
example only, system 400 may be used by families, wherein usage
information from children is transmitted to both parents.
Additionally, this configuration allows the parents to share usage
information with each other.
[0035] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating yet another exemplary
mobile telephone usage information system, e.g., system 500. In
system 500 there are five mobile phones linked to one account,
i.e., mobile telephones 502, 504, 506, 508 and 510. According to
the configuration shown in FIG. 5, each mobile telephone in system
500 transmits usage information, via a service provider network
(not shown), to all other mobile telephones in system 500.
Therefore, in contrast to the systems shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, there
are no sub-accounts in system 500. By way of example only, system
500 may be used by employees of a company sharing minutes on a
single plan.
[0036] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a further exemplary mobile
telephone usage information system, e.g., system 600. In system
600, there are four mobile telephones, e.g., mobile telephones 602,
604, 606 and 608, linked to one account, e.g., account 610, and two
mobile telephones, e.g., mobile telephones 612 and 614, linked to
another account, e.g., account 616.
[0037] With regard to account 610, mobile telephone 602 comprises a
primary account and mobile telephones 604, 606 and 608 comprise
sub-accounts. With regard to account 616, there are no
sub-accounts. However, usage information from mobile telephones 612
and 614 is transmitted to mobile telephone 602 of account 610, via
a service provider network (not shown). By way of example only,
system 600 may be used by families having more than one account,
and wherein one parent monitors usage of all accounts.
[0038] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary system for
relaying mobile telephone usage information to a user. In system
700, usage information is transmitted from mobile telephones 702
and 704, both of which comprise sub-accounts of system 700, to
service provider 706. Service provider 706 compiles the usage
information and then transmits it to mobile telephone 708, which
comprises the primary account of system 700.
[0039] According to an exemplary embodiment, the service provider
monitors the usage for each mobile telephone in a given account.
The service provider then relays the usage information it has
collected to the one or more mobile telephones comprising primary
accounts for that given account. Further, each mobile telephone
linked to a particular account may have the capabilities of
receiving usage information from the service provider, and it is up
to the user or users of the account to determine which mobile
telephones in the account will comprise primary accounts.
[0040] Usage information can be automatically sent to the mobile
telephone of the primary account user by the service provider. This
usage information is also preferably updated on a regular basis,
allowing the user to, as will be described in detail below,
selectively suspend service to high usage accounts. According to an
exemplary embodiment, the user might receive usage information
updates by keying a particular code into her mobile telephone. For
example, the user might key *11 on her mobile telephone key pad
which requests that the service provider relay account usage
information to that mobile telephone.
[0041] According to another exemplary embodiment, account usage
information is provided to a primary account user via the internet.
For example, some mobile telephones are equipped with wireless
access to the internet. Users of these mobile telephones might then
log onto the internet through their telephones and receive usage
information updates via the internet. For example, service
providers might transmit, via the internet, alerts to the user that
the usage for a particular account is high.
[0042] The user of a primary account may, e.g., based on the usage
information transmitted to her, contact the service provider to
suspend one or more services to one or more of the mobile
telephones in the account. For example, the user of the primary
account might, through monitoring usage, ascertain that the usage
on one sub-account is disproportionally higher than on other
sub-accounts, and request that the service provider temporarily or
permanently suspend service for that high-use sub-account.
Similarly, the user of the primary account might ascertain that the
text messaging usage in one sub-account is high, but the talk time
usage is low. The user might then have the service provider suspend
only the text messaging service for that one sub-account.
[0043] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary system for
performing one or more of the present methodologies. Apparatus 800
comprises a computer system 810, e.g., a server operated by service
provider 706, described in conjunction with the description of FIG.
7, above, that interacts with media 850. Computer system 810
comprises a processor 820, a network interface 825, a memory 830, a
media interface 835 and an optional display 840. Network interface
825 allows computer system 810 to connect to a network while media
interface 835 allows computer system 810 to interact with media
850, such as a Digital Versatile Disk (DVD) or a hard drive.
[0044] According to an exemplary embodiment, media 850 may comprise
a source of preconfigured templates that the service provider
supplies to users. For example, media 850 may comprise a graphic
representation template that can be provided to the user which the
user can implement and/or modify.
[0045] As is known in the art, the methods and apparatus discussed
herein may be distributed as an article of manufacture that itself
comprises a computer-readable medium having computer-readable code
means embodied thereon. The computer-readable program code means is
operable, in conjunction with a computer system such as computer
system 810, to carry out all or some of the steps to perform one or
more of the methods or create the apparatus discussed herein. For
example, the computer-readable code is configured to implement a
method of monitoring mobile telephone usage, by the step of:
relaying usage information pertaining to one or more mobile
telephones to one or more other mobile telephones.
[0046] The computer-readable medium may be a recordable medium
(e.g., floppy disks, hard drive, optical disks such as a DVD, or
memory cards) or may be a transmission medium (e.g., a network
comprising fiber-optics, the world-wide web, cables, or a wireless
channel using time-division multiple access, code-division multiple
access, or other radio-frequency channel). Any medium known or
developed that can store information suitable for use with a
computer system may be used. The computer-readable code means is
any mechanism for allowing a computer to read instructions and
data, such as magnetic variations on a magnetic medium or height
variations on the surface of a compact disk.
[0047] Memory 830 configures the processor 820 to implement the
methods, steps, and functions disclosed herein. The memory 830
could be distributed or local and the processor 820 could be
distributed or singular. The memory 830 could be implemented as an
electrical, magnetic or optical memory, or any combination of these
or other types of storage devices. Moreover, the term "memory"
should be construed broadly enough to encompass any information
able to be read from or written to an address in the addressable
space accessed by processor 820. With this definition, information
on a network, accessible through network interface 825, is still
within memory 830 because the processor 820 can retrieve the
information from the network. It should be noted that each
distributed processor that makes up processor 820 generally
contains its own addressable memory space. It should also be noted
that some or all of computer system 810 can be incorporated into an
application-specific or general-use integrated circuit.
[0048] Optional video display 840 is any type of video display
suitable for interacting with a human user of apparatus 800.
Generally, video display 840 is a computer monitor or other similar
video display.
[0049] Although illustrative embodiments of the present invention
have been described herein, it is to be understood that the
invention is not limited to those precise embodiments, and that
various other changes and modifications may be made by one skilled
in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of the
invention.
* * * * *